Mildura Weekly – 06/12/13 5
www.milduraphonebook.com.au
By BEN PISCIONERI
MILDURA Rural City Councillor
Mark Eckel has called for calm in
the wake of a report detailing future
recreational land in Mildura South,
presented at last week’s monthly
Council meeting.
While the report made brief ref-
erences to a new indoor sporting fa-
cility, it mainly centred on land for
general recreational use, triggering
claims from some indoor sporting
groups they’ve been left out, and are
the ‘poor cousins’ to other sports.
There was also a stipulation in
the briefing provided to councillors
that “the location of any indoor fa-
cility is not specifically relevant to
the location of recreation needs for
the Mildura South community”.
The report, prepared by Hansen
Partnership, found Council-owned
land on the corner of Sixteenth
Street and Deakin Avenue was the
preferred location for “active open
space” in the Mildura South area.
It also found the site would pro-
vide opportunities for the relocation
of one of the football clubs based at
Mildura Recreation Reserve (Num-
ber 1 Oval).
Council’s endorsement of the re-
port has angered many indoor sport-
ing groups according to Sunraysia
Indoor Sporting Group spokesman,
Paul Freckleton.
“We were gobsmacked that plans
for an indoor complex were essen-
tially left out of the latest document
outlining recreational land in Mil-
dura South,” Mr Freckleton said.
He said some indoor users were
also concerned that if sporting ovals
and other recreational facilities were
constructed on this parcel of land,
it would take away the option of an
indoor complex at the site, which
they say most reports indicate is the
preferred location.
Mildura Councillor for Sport
and Recreation, Mark Eckel, this
week called for calm, stressing the
construction of an indoor sporting
complex remained a top priority,
and that the document presented
last week was indicative only, and
“nothing is in concrete.”
“Firstly, as I said at last week’s
Council Meeting, my number one
issue as far as sport and recreation is
concerned, is the indoor establish-
ment,” he said.
“What this latest report did was
identify land for recreation, that’s
all it did. It’s an indicative report
only.
“It needs to be clarified that no
decision has been made.
“We (Council) are certainly
aware that there aren’t enough fa-
cilities and that’s why we’re under-
taking the work we’re doing.”
Cr Eckel also conceded that
much of the “documentation
and strategic planning all the way
through” indicated the Sixteenth
Street and Deakin Avenue site was
the “logical place” for a new indoor
venue.
“The challenge for us now
though, is how can we make this
happen, and make it happen soon?
We need to get this moving, wher-
ever it is to be located,” Cr Eckel
said.
He also highlighted the impor-
tance of putting the project on the
Victorian Government’s radar now,
given the next State election is less
than 12 months away, in November
next year.
Cr Eckel said that Council es-
timated the project would cost
between $15million and $20mil-
lion, however Mr Freckleton said
there were cheaper options, instead
suggesting that after research and
consultation with builders and
developers, a less elaborate com-
plex could be completed for about
$10million.
“The indoor sports don’t nec-
essarily need an elaborate build-
ing with all the ‘bells and whistles’.
They just need a facility where they
can play.”
However both Cr Eckel and Mr
Freckleton agreed this week that
a funding solution based around
either private developers and/or
sporting groups could hold the so-
lution.
• Continued Page 6
Indoor sports venue a top
priority, Cr Eckel promises
• VISION: Mildura Rural
City Councillor for Sport and
Recreation, Mark Eckel, and
Sunraysia Indoor Sporting Group
spokesman Paul Freckleton.
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